Putin Radiates
Power as Obama Sits Idly By (SueddeutscheZeitung, Germany)
"Vladimir Putin has made his country a major factor in the world's bloodiest ongoing war, which has altered borders to an extent that is currently hard to judge. ... The country hasn't been this strong since perhaps the end of the Cold War. And certainly, it has never been this influential in the Middle East. At the G8 Summit, Putin radiated power. ... The U.S. cannot stand idly by if it wants to maintain its claim as a peace-keeping
power. Its weakness will be exploited and is being studied."
Russia has achieved its
goal: President Putin has made his country a decisive factor in the Syrian
civil war. His country hasn't been this strong since perhaps the end of the
Cold War. The G-8 Summit has become an arena for dueling with the United States.
So
far, all attempts to keep the warring parties in Syria at bay have failed. The rules
laid down by the international community and enforced by the United Nations are
no use. The most significant reason for the lack of teeth of international law
and politics is Russia. Russia prevents even a diaper-soft vote in the U.N. Security
Council because it doesn't want to allow encroachment on its own sphere of
influence. This is called obstruction, and in the case of Russia, acts as leverage
for superpower politics.
Of
you like, one could say that Russia has already arrived at its destination:
President Vladimir Putin has made his country a major factor in the world's
bloodiest ongoing war, which has altered borders to an extent that is currently
hard to judge. Russia is playing the role of a world power. The country hasn't
been this strong since perhaps the end of the Cold War. And certainly, it has
never been this influential in the Middle East. At the G8 Summit, Putin
radiated power.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
In
contrast, the United States has a growing problem. With his decision to
withdraw from Iraq and his Cairo speech about Islam, President Barack Obama has
defined the defensive stance of his government. The U.S. has largely observed
the Arab Spring from the sidelines. In Libya, it was drawn into an unpopular
armed conflict by France and Britain. And in Syria, whether with political
pressure or the tools of international law, all attempts to influence the
conflict from outside have failed.
But
now the tides have turned, and the war in Syria has created new conditions.
Many had declared President Bashar al-Assad politically
dead, but he has been revived with help from Hezbullah. The expulsion of
religious groups from Syria follows a clear pattern. The disintegration of the
country is inevitable. Protected by Russia and Hezbullah, Assad will end up
ruling over the fractured torso of a state, which will lead to strife and
violence: against Lebanon and against Israel.
The
U.S. cannot stand idly by if it wants to maintain its claim as a peace-keeping
power. Its weakness will be exploited and is being studied by the Iranian
regime, hungry for nuclear power and defending its influence in the region
while fearing for its own existence. If Damascus falls, Tehran is next. The
Iranian regime is familiar with the contagion theory.
